The Job
by Midnight82
Summary: She owed them a favor. She needed to protect her. But, at the same time, she wanted to protect him. Even if everything crashed down around her, she knew two things would always stand - she'd protect both of them; no matter the cost. Zero/OC
1. Chapter 1

Karin awoke with a jolt, her head slamming painfully agaisnt the headboard of her bed. She winced, rolling to the side. It wasn't a smooth move, and it had almost certainly woken up her roomate, Ria. Sure enough, Karin didn't even have to move before someone had slid themselves onto the bed. "Rin? Are you alright?"

Rolling over onto her other side, Karin nodded meekly. "I'm fine."

"It doesn't seem like it," muttered Ria, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "This is the fourth night in a row you've woken up due to a nightmare. Is something going on your not telling me about?"

"Of course not, Ria. I tell you everything. You know that."

Letting out a tense sigh, Ria ran a hand through her hair and nodded, a bit stiffly. "I guess you're right, Rin." She got up, but paused, turning her head back to look at Karin. "You _promise _you'd tell me?"

"I promise."

Satisfied, Ria climbed back into bed. Within minutes she was sound asleep, and through the darkness Karin could see her chest rising and falling. Snuggling back into her pillow, Karin brought her knees up to her own chest and sighed, letting her cheek fall onto her knees.

She wasn't telling Ria the whole truth.

And, Karin knew, she'd probably never tell anyone the full truth if she could help it.

Before Karin knew it, she was stuck in her thoughts; stuck on a never-ending reel of her own memories. And before she knew it, the sun had begun to rise over the horizon. She got up, heading to the bathroom.

"...rin?" a tired voice asked. "Where are you going?"

Karin let out a laugh as she turned on the bathroom light and stepped inside. "You must really be out of it. I have disciplinary comittee duties. Y'know, like I do every day and night."

"Oh yeah." Ria yawned and rolled back over, letting sleep claim her again.

After Karin had finished and gotten dressed, she stared in the mirror. Her hand rose, as if automatic, and pinned her badge to her arm. She let out a sigh as she stared at her reflection, letting her thoughts wander to the one thing she _hated _to ever let herself think:

Why can't I be more like..._them_.

Them was referring to the Night Class, the class that she had to "protect" from the Day Class. "Really," Karin muttered to herself inwardly, "they're vampires; can't they keep away the fans by themselves?"

Two things bothered her most about the Night Class, the first being that they were vampires. Karin had a strong hate of the creatures, thanks to her upbringing. The second thing was that they were all so _beautiful_. Karin had wished for looks like that at a time, and even now the thoughts had come to mind, but she forced herself not to. That won't help, she scolded herself.

She didn't look bad, but she didn't exactly look healthy either.

Karin _was_ tall, but in the sickly sort of way: her limbs seemed too long for her body, and were constantly making her clumsy. Heck, that had ruined her childhood in a way. Her hair was a light black color, no shine to it; and it hung loosely around her neck and curled at the bottom. Her skin had gotten paler, almost as pale as the vampires, but it looked unhealthy. Dark purple patches had grown underneath her tired brown eyes, but she was never tired.

"No time to wallow in my self-pity now," groaned Karin to herself, tugging the door open. Ria stood outside, her own uniform in her hand. Karin flashed her a grin and walked past her. "I'll be gone then! See you in class, Ria."

"You too, Rin."

And then Karin was gone, outside. The air was cool, and it felt nice agaisnt Karin's warm skin. She smiled inwardly and trekked to the gates of the school where the Night Class and Day Class converged. Two familiar people rested outside of the gates, in the center.

"Karin!" the smaller of the two called, rushing over. She was a short, hyper brunette who had huge eyes and a personality to match. Ever since Karin had first met Yuki Cross, she had loved her to death. "You're here early. Usually Ria or I have to drag you here."

Chuckling sheepishly, Karin swatted her remark away and shrugged. "I was already up."

"Why? Did someone wake you up?" Karin loved Yuki to death, but one of her worst qualities was her ability to ask tons of questions.

"No, no - I just had a bad dream." They started to walk back towards where Yuki had originally been, and where the second figure stood, propped up agaisnt the wall, a bored expression on his face. "It's fine, don't worry about it, okay?"

Yuki seemed like she wanted to say more, but Karin cut her off with a sharp, "Zero! Looking enthusiastic today, aren't you? But then again, you always are-"

"Quit it, Tsuna." Zero just _loved _calling her that, didn't he?

In fact, ever since Karin could remember, Zero Kiryu had been calling her 'Tsuna'. It was almost a nickname of sorts now, but if anyone else called her it she might have thought twice about it. They had been friends since they were both little kids, had gone through such tough times - but he still called her 'Tsuna'.

"Stop fighting, you guys," scolded Yuki. She had always been the one to stop the fights that sprouted between Karin and Zero, even though most of them were harmless and involved nothing more than light teasing.

Karin draped an arm over Yuki's neck and grinned, pulling the girl close. "Calm down, sis! You know it's nothing."

Letting out a laugh, Yuki unwound herself from Karin and listened closely as the telltale sound of footsteps could be heard. "They're coming," moaned Karin, the heat draining slowly from her face. She could never seem to stop the dread that grew in the pit of her stomach.

"Let's go!" yelled Yuki loudly, taking charge.

Smiling briefling to herself, Karin sucked in a breath and turned to the oncoming ground. The Night Class hadn't even come out yet, and they were all still making such a big fuss. Karin stuck up her arms and helped Yuki attempt to keep the Day Class students away from the gate.

When the gates opened, Karin watched as the group grew crazier. Even Yuki fell to her knees, almost ambushed by the crowd. She darted forward, holding out her hand-

And Kaname Kuran beat her to it.

Watching as he smoothly bent down and reached forward, gripping Yuki's forearm, Karin retracted her arm ever so slightly and stayed back, going forward and pushing back the rest of the crowd. She didn't hear the rest of Yuki and Kaname's conversation, but soon enough he was right beside her, startling her.

"Kaname...? Geez," Karin replied, a bit flustered. How had he...? And wasn't he...? Oh well, he was a vampire; there were some things even Karin didn't know about them - not that she wanted to, anyways.

"I suspect you are keeping up your..._job_, right?"

Karin winced and rubbed her arm. "O...of course."

"Good." He left, walking back to class only to be interrupted once when someone offered him a gift. Karin looked away, and was startled again to find Zero right next to, looking down on her with a cold glare.

She didn't say anything, just stared back with her own gaze. With a little sigh of defeat, Karin muttered, "I hate Kuran," and turned her head away, focusing on the remaining crowd. She pushed them farther away, with all of her strength.

Once they finished, Karin blew out a little sigh and smiled. "I think that went pretty well."

Yuki - who still had a slight blush on her face from her interaction with Kaname - nodded and smiled back. "Well, see you guys later!" With that, she dashed off. Karin blew out a low whistle; that girl had a lot of energy, and it suprised Karin just how much she had.

"Well, Zero, shall we go to class?"

Karin glanced up expectantly at the silver-haired male, but he was only glaring down at her, a sort of determined look on his face. "Geez," she muttered, rubbing her head and started to walk forward, "if you didn't want to go to class, you only needed to say so."

"What did you talk about with Kuran?"

_Of course that'd be what he'd ask. _Karin sniffed, crossing her arms. "None of your buisness."

Zero stopped abruptly, grabbing Karin's shoulder and stopping her. Eyes wide, Karin flushed and pushed herself away from him, shaking her hands back and forth. "Fine. _Fine_! If you have to know, he asked me if I was doing my job. Okay?"

Zero didn't answer. He just gave her another look, and then they both walked to class in silence.

"Well, Ria. I'd say this is about the best lunch I've ever had." Karin bit into a piece of pork she had taken from Ria's own plate. Karin had never sat still in her entire life, and she wouldn't change that now just because she was at some school.

"You say that about _every _meal," Ria said, rolling her eyes. The other couple of girls sitting around them all nodded their heads in agreement. Flushing, Karin swallowed and shook her head.

"But this time, I _mean _it!"

Ria moved closer to Karin, her voice a whisper. "I saw you talking to Kaname today outside. What gives?"

"Hm. I never saw you as the type to fangirl." Karin tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I always thought you were more like that Sayori girl, the one Yuki hangs out with."

Ria leaned back, her blonde hair falling neatly behind her back with a short wave of her hand. "That Aido boy is really handsome. I can't help myself." She shook off the thoughts and turned back to Karin, her eyes worried. "But seriously, Rin. What did you talk about with Kaname?"

"Is someone jealous?"

"Of course not. Merely curious. Rin-"

"Oh, wow! Look at _that_. It seems Yuki needs my help." Karin grabbed one more piece of pork and jumped up, slipping into her mouth. "It seems urgent. I should go." Before Ria could reply, Karin dashed off and found Yuki and that short-haired girl who Karin recalled went by the name of Sayori Wakaba.

Ignoring the looks both Sayori and Yuki gave her, Karin settled into the seat and gave both of them her biggest smile. "Hello you two. I just decided to drop in and say hello."

"Karin Tsuna," mumbled Sayori, as if she needed to remind herself who Karin was. Which she probably did; Karin was good at staying out of the spotlight, and not many people knew her name. If they did, they probably hated her from keeping them away from the Night Class.

"Why are you guys so shocked? I can't sit with a girl I've known for four years?" asked Karin in what she hoped was an innocent tone.

Yuki gave a small smile and nod and turned to Sayori, waving a hand at Karin. "This is my friend Karin Tsuna. Karin, this is my friend Yori."

Karin gave a nod to Yori, who returned it slowly. She seemed nice enough, and quiet too - Karin liked quiet people. They were much easier to get along with then people who talked a lot. The rest of the lunch past by with most of Yuki's chattering, some of Karin's remarks, and Yori's once-in-a-while opinions. It was a great lunch, in Karin's opinion.

Opting to miss out on Ria's fury for a few more hours until bed, Karin slipped out of class un-noticed and decided just to walk around; if anyone asked, she use the excuse that she had heard something suspicious, and as a member of the disciplinary comittee, it was her job to figure it out.

Her head thumped with the sign of an oncoming headache. These had been coming so frequently now that Karin had long since grown used to them. She knew it was most likely because of the stress. Thumping down in front of a tree, Karin curled up.

It could be so much easier if she had someone to talk to this about.

But that would most likely never be possible, and Karin knew that much.

"What are you doing out of class?"

Karin looked up, snapping out of her reverie. "Huh?" Zero was standing in front of her, looking down at her with his normal, cold purple eyes. "Oh...Zero. I just...I have a headache."

Looking over to the side when he didn't respond, Karin saw that classes were over and the Day Class kids were starting to come back. She hopped to her feet, gave Zero a grin, and said, "Aren't we going to go? We have a job, you know!"

Karin could almost swear she heard his eyes rolling behind her.

The job finished easily and quick, with no interruptions; Kaname didn't even so much as look at her - thank goodness - and Ria wasn't able to get past the large crowd of Day Class students. Once they finished, Yuki turned to both Karin and Zero. "I'm going to bed, okay?"

Karin nodded and watched Yuki bounce off towards her dorm. Turning on her heel, Karin waited for Zero to walk off as well. "Aren't you...aren't you going to go?" She used her hands to make a sweeping motion into the distance.

"So eager to see me leave, aren't you Tsuna?"

"No, that's not it." Karin bit her lip and crossed her arm. "I just don't want to go back to my room."

Without saying a word, both of them just started walking slowly down the path, not going any specific way. "Is it Ria?" asked Zero after a minute.

A bit startled, Karin cast a glance up at him. "How'd you know? I didn't think anyone besides the girls at my table knew what had happened. Maybe even Yuki or Yori, but that's because I ran to their table..." Karin tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Ria was trying to push past those girls like there wasn't a tomorrow. And after you escaped and hid behind Yuki - which how is that possible, anyways? - she left with a...weird expression."

"Weird?"

"I don't think she'd get that kind of expression on her face if she couldn't see that stupid vampire."

Even though he didn't say the name, Karin automatically knew which one he was talking about. "Wow! You even know about him? You're observant, Zero!" She hit him off the shoulder playfully, laughing.

She liked moments like these. When they talked as though they were kids again.

Almost caught in the moment, Karin looked up at Zero. She stepped back, startled. He seemed...different, almost. His eyes weren't that normal shade of purple, but rather a sort of red color. He seemed on edge as well.

"Zero...is something wrong?"

"...no."

Karin knew better than to push it, she didn't need to know; but this was where _her job _came in. The thing no one could know. The thing no one except a few would _ever _know. She reached up, her hand falling onto Zero's shoulder.

"If there _is _something going on...leave Yuki out of it."

With those last words finally out of her mouth, Karin let her hand drop and sucked in a sigh, giving a small smile to Zero. She headed towards her dorm with her head ducked low and her hands hanging limply at her sides.

This job would be the end of her.

The end of _everything_.

She just knew it.

But she had too.

She had too.


	2. Chapter 2

[Hello everyone! I just wanted to say thank you for the reviews I got! I didn't expect that much c: Hopefully I'll answer _some _of your questions in this chapter, but they will all be answered as the story goes along. How long do you guys want this story to be? :o feeback is welcome!

Sorry about how short this is! It'll be longer next time, and I'll probably update tomorrow or something, hopefully.

Disclaimer - I don't own Vampire Knight. I only own Karin and Ria.]

Ria hadn't been mad.

She had given Karin a good scolding for dodging the question - "_I only _care _about you, Rin_" - but had gotten over it quickly and had gone to bed. Karin followed soon after, actually getting a good night's sleep for once. When morning came, she rose, skipping into the bathroom and getting changed. School went by nice and quickly. It finished, and Karin headed off for Disciplinary Comittee duties.

Yuki and Zero were once again waiting for her. "How do you guys get here so early?"

"Because we're always here early," chirped Yuki, placing her hands on her hips. "You could do a thing or two if you learned from us!"

"I think if I did try and be like you, I'd somehow be a mix of you and Zero. Imagine _that_! A mix of you two? It'd be horrible..." Karin chuckled, watching as Yuki went from cheery to flustered, and a look of annoyance passed Zero's face. "Oh my gosh! Imagine if you guys had children-"

Zero smacked Karin quickly upside the head at the exact moment Yuki screamed, "Be quiet, Karin!"

Karin merely chuckled, swatting away Zero's hand and sighing. "I'm just kidding."

For a few brief seconds everything was quiet. "Karin," said Zero, startling both girls, "can I talk to your for a second?" Suddenly, the encounter from yesterday was fresh in Karin's mind:

_Leave Yuki out of it._

Turning a light shade of white, Karin neatly dodged the question by shaking her head 'no'. "It's almost time for the Night Class to be coming out. Day Class students are already started to gather." Karin gestured to the few kids who had practically run from their classes to get a good spot. Karin had to admire their persistance.

Once again, something close to annoyance flashed on Zero's face, but he didn't say anything more. The gates opened after that, and the Night Class students came out. Yuki darted off in every way, her hands flying rapidly in the air. Zero, however, could just stand still. He could scare off any girl that came within five feet of him. Karin had to chuckle had that.

She was busy shooing off a couple of particulary noisy girls when a hand fell on her shoulder. "Karin," the voice said behind her, and a shudder ran through her.

"Kaname," she said without looking, her hands dropping to her sides.

_Nothing good ever comes up when he talks to me._

"Can I talk to you, please?" he asked smoothly. Karin turned, facing him, and nodded, standing firmly in place. She stared defiantly in his eyes, and was struck with a thought: _He looks like a lot like Yuki. _She shook off the thought. "In private."

Sighing, Karin grabbed his arm and dragged him to the back, where no girls had gotten to. She saw some of them glaring at her, their eyes dark pools of fury. Inwardly screaming, Karin turned back to Kaname and crossed her arms. "What is it, Kuran?"

"I only came to let you know something." He leaned agaisnt the wall next to him with a thud. "You _do _know what's happening to Kiryu, don't you?"

The word 'Kiryu' pricked Karin's interest, but she fought it down and licked her lips. "Right to the point aren't you? And when you ask that - no, I don't think so. Is he secretly developing a crush on Yuki? Isn't that only bad news for you-"

"It's not that." Kaname interrupted smoothly, and Karin frowned. She hated to be interrupted. "You've been with the Kiryu's since you were little, weren't you?"

Karin's eyes narrowed. "What about it?"

"You remember that vampire attack, right? You _did _see what happened, right?"

Eyes wide, Karin placed her hands on her head. She was a smart person, in common sense; school sense, however, that was strictly a b to c range. "You don't mean...Zero would have told me, wouldn't he?"

Kaname seemed to stare at her for longer than the three minute pause between her words and his. "I don't know much about your releationship with him. I'm only telling you this because-"

"I know." Karin's fists clenched tightly, the skin growning whiter where it stretched over the bone. "Protect _her_."

Kaname's hand touched her shoulder, lightly. "It'll help you protect her-"

"Don't touch me," Karin said quickly, shaking his hand off her shoulder before she could actually think about what she was doing. She stumbled back, sighing. "I can do my job quite well, thank you very much. I've been doing it for four years, I'm sure I can handle some more time."

Without saying goodbye, Karin turned and walked back to where she had been standing, continuing pushing the cluster of girl's back. Some of them were glaring even more harshly at her, and she could hear murmurs, which included her name and Kaname's. She ignored them after that.

Once the Night Class had left, the Day Class finally started to leave.

Yuki was the first to find Karin, who had slumpd herself agaisnt the wall. "Was this night rough for you, Karin?" asked Yuki, looking a little alarmed.

Karin shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Okay, if you say so." Yuki gave a small nod and smile. "I'm going on a night prowl. I'll be off." She turned and started to walk off, only stopping to say goodbye to Zero. Karin watched as he came closer.

As he stood in front of her, Karin meekly noticed how tall he had gotten. "Wow, you _are _taller than me now-"

He had bent down and placed his hands on either side of her head, trapping her between him and the wall behind her. He was close now, his nose barely brushing hers. Karin's face had turned white, and she was staring right into Zero's eyes. "Zero..."

"I'm only doing this, Tsuna, because I _know _you. If I don't somehow trap you, you'll keep dodging my questions." He sighed, closed his eyes, and said, "What happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean?" This was Karin's next defense - forgetting the exchange between the two had ever happened.

Annoyance seemed to be a common emotion of Zero's, and it once again entered his eyes. "Karin. I'm not joking."

Blowing out a sigh, Karin hung her head in defeat. She knew Zero, and she knew he wasn't going to give up easily. The best thing she could do now is answer. "I need to protect Yuki. You can't hurt her, Zero! I can't let anyone hurt her."

"And that's what I'm wondering," he said angrily, glaring at her. "I've known you forever, and all your life you never cared about anyone except me-" she noticed how he had forgotten to mention _him, _"and suddenly you start caring about Yuki as soon as we move in with her? I know it's not because you felt a connection." Karin could see how curious he actually was about it.

She didn't like Kuran. All he wanted her to do was continue on her _job_. So he wouldn't care if she gave away his secret...right? "Kuran wants me to protect Yuki. That's what."

For a moment, shock was in Zero's eyes, but he quickly masked it. "Why? Why does he want you to protect Yuki?"

"I don't know."

That was the truth, so he couldn't yell at her for that.

He pulled back, obviously not satisfied with her answer. "You never seem to shock me, Tsuna."

That's what made her jump for a moment. She never shocked him, huh? Adrenaline was already rushing through her veins, so Karin rocked back and forth for a minute before jumping forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and pressing her lips to his for a split second.

It lasted a second before she pulled away, smirking evilly. His eyes were wide, and he was staring at her. "I don't shock you, hmm?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he turned and started to walk away, hands in his pockets.

"What? Didn't you like it?" teased Karin.

He turned back, looking at her with almost a pained expression. "I didn't like it."

Karin poked at her food the next day at lunch, her head pressed tightly into her hand. Ria watched on, worry in her eyes. "Rin? Are you okay? You seem upset."

"I'm fine."

"I can take you to the nurse-"

"I'm fine."

"Want to have my lunch? Maybe your hungy-"

"I'm fine."

"I can help you study-"

"_I'm fine_." Karin stabbed her fork through the food on her plate with a fierceness Ria had never seen in her friend before. She stared on, eyes wide. Sighing, Karin took out her fork and set it neatly beside her before turning to her friend. "I'm sorry, Ria. Can you answer a question for me?"

"Sure."

"Am I a bad kisser?"

The girls around them chuckled, and Ria stared back at Karin. "How would you expect me to know?"

Karin slumped forward. "I don't know. Sorry I asked."

It was when Karin had walked outside, heading towards the Night Class gates when she decided she wouldn't be mad at Zero. It would only make matters worse, and she didn't want to lose him as a friend.

Everything seemed fine at first, but when the shift ended, Zero had waited until Yuki had left to corner Karin again. "What is it?" she asked angrily, forgetting about her idea to not be mad. "Come to rub my bad kissing skills in my face again?"

"I just wanted to tell you that you have to come into the town with me. Headmaster has errands he wants us to run."

"Why do I have to come?"

"It was either you or Yuki."

The words clicked in Karin's head and she inwardly smiled, glad Zero had remembered her warning. She nodded.

"I'm in."


	3. Chapter 3

[Disclaimer - I don't own Vampire Knight.]

The wind rustled Karin's hair slightly as she peered at the list in her hand, almost glaring at it. "Why does he _need _these things, anyways?" Karin let out a light chuckle, shaking her head and jamming the list back in her pocket.

"I don't know." Zero was walking besides her, being quiet as usual, his hands in his pockets. Karin shook her head at him and continued walking, focusing on the nice feeling of being away from the academy.

They stopped at a few stands, picking up some objects. Karin didn't think much of it, merely bought the object and tossed it back at Zero, assuming he was fine carrying all the items. When she glanced back, she jumped at the sight of how many things he was _actually _holding. "Zero!" she yelled, rushing over and grabbing as many bags as possible from him. "Next time, tell me."

"I was fine," he said gruffly.

Karin rolled her eyes and tucked another package under her arm. "I hate how all men just have to be the strongest things on the planet." She laughed and pointed to a cafe nearby with her head. "How about we have a break, hmm?"

"I don't care."

"Whoa! Calm down," Karin said jokingly, already starting to walk towards the cafe. "If you wanted to go _so badly _you only have to say so." As Karin opened the door, she heard a small snort from Zero. A smile passed over her lips briefly as she set down the bags at a table and slid into a seat. Zero followed suit, although he did it more easily and swiftly.

Propping open the menu, Karin peeked over at Zero from the top, wiggling her eyebrows. "What are you getting?"

He threw a quick look at the menu and then sighed, pushing it away so that it teetered over the edge of the table. "I don't want anything." He stared at the window, resting his head in his hand. "I wanted noodles."

"You could have just said so," argued Karin.

Gently folding the menu, Karin set it on the table and leaned back, letting her head fall agaisnt the chair. Her eyes closed and she found herself slowly drifting off to sleep, her breathing becoming slower...and a hand tapped her own, sending her slamming upwards. "What?" She blinked, trying to clear the haze that had already set in. "Did I doze off?"

Zero nodded.

"I'm sorry." Karin brushed some hair from her forehead and crossed her legs, signaling the waitress over. She ordered quickly, letting the waitress leave with only her order.

"Maybe I wanted something," said Zero as soon as the waitress left, making Karin turn a light shade of white.

"I know." Karin's tone of voice made Zero freeze, his eyes wide. It had been the thing she had used to joke around about with _him_. Karin froze as well, her hands gripping the edge of the table. 'I know, I know' was a thing she used to say back and forth with _him_, just a childish way to pass the time.

"Zero, I-"

"I know."

Karin looked up, and before she knew it, she was laughing. Hard. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. Tears sprang to her eyes, and as she looked up, she saw that the other two people in the cafe were staring at her, alarmed. When she settled back into her seat, she saw Zero had a slight ghost of a smile on his lips. Karin smiled inwardly.

Maybe this was a changing point.

She reached forward, touching his hand lightly with her own. "Zero, you _do _know what happened with Ichiru wasn't-"

He tore his hand away, the slight smile disappearing. "Just because I joined in, doesn't mean I want to talk about it."

This wasn't a changing point.

Karin nodded, dragging her own hand slowly along the table until she dropped it into her lap. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Silence stayed between them until Karin's food came, and she started eating it hungrily. She had finished about half of it when she paused, sticking some on her fork and looking up at Zero. Finally, she lifted it forward until it hovered in front of him. He looked back at her, a confused expression on her face. "You should eat it," she coaxed. "I haven't seen you eat anything. You must be starving."

"No." He shook his head firmly.

Karin's eyes softened and she continued to hold the fork in front of her, unwilling to move. "Please. For me?" She smiled goofily.

He snatched the fork out of her hand before she could see, and stuffed the food into his mouth. Karin decided to forget the look that was on his face as he chewed - it wasn't _that _bad - and just smile at him, taking the fork back with a smug look on her face. "I told you you were hungry."

She continued to eat, the smile still poised on her lips.

"Excuse me," asked a woman who had approached them. She was wearing a waitress uniform, and was holding a pitcher in her hand. "Are you from the Night Class at Cross Academy?" She was looking at Zero as she said this.

Both Zero and Karin stopped what they were doing, and the waitress took that as a sign of agreement. "Oh, I know it! You do indeed look like one of them-"

Karin flinched when Zero got up rapidly, the chair scraping back loudly. Without sparing any of them a last glance, he left, leaving Karin with the food and the bags. The waitress looked at Karin, an apologetic look on her face. Karin merely waggled a hand at her. "I think I'll stay here instead. Wait until he cools off. Can I get another ice cream?"

The waitress nodded and went off to make out, while Karin sat back and ran a hand through her hair.

"Excuse me?"

_This again? Please don't be that waitress..._

Karin looked up, excuses ready on the tip of her tongue, but faltered when she saw the person who had talked was just a regular tall boy, with shaggy brown hair and glasses. He had his hands in his pockets, and was staring at Karin with a sort of half-smile. "Um, hi?" Karin asked timidly, racking through her brain to see if she knew the boy.

"You seemed kind of lonely." The boy sat down in Zero's seat, crossing his arms, his smile growing. "So I came to give you some company."

_What kind of person does this guy think he is?_

An annoyed look on her face, Karin said, "Well, I'm not lonely. My friend sat there. He should be back any time now." Sure, it was a lie of some sorts, but it was truthful in some parts.

The boy let out a laugh. "Okay. Sure. I saw everything. Let me guess - your boyfriend has anger issues and couldn't handle the fact that the waitress was comparing him to Night Class as a joke?"

Anger flooded through Karin's veins for a moment, and she bit her lip, glaring at the boy. "I don't know who you are, but you're annoying me. He is not my boyfriend, and she wasn't comparing him to the Night Class as a joke!"

"So he _does _have anger managment issues..."

Letting out a strangled moan, Karin let her head drop onto the table. "Please go..."

"Oh, fine...fine." Karin looked up eagerly to see that the boy was in fact pushing his chair back and standing up. "You'll see more of me soon, anyways." Karin frowned; what could that mean? But she watched as the boy carefully waved goodbye to one of the waitresses and then left, going outside.

Gaping, Karin turned back to her table and shook her head.

He was a figment of her imagination. He had to be. That explained it.

An hour passed by, and Karin was beginning to worry. Was Zero mad at her? Should she have said something? Would he come back? Or did he go back to the Academy. Karin stuck the fork in her fourth ice cream and put down some money for the food, grabbing the packages and stumbling out the door with them.

Her plan was just to go back to school, and yell at Zero until her heart exploded.

"Karin."

Dropping two packages onto the ground, Karin turned. "Zero!" she said, spotting the silver-haired boy. She set down the packages gently on the ground and then turned back to Zero, hitting him on the shoulder. "Why did you leave? I was being bullied by some guy while you left."

Karin swore she saw some sort of laughter in Zero's eyes, but in vanished before she could make sure. "Come on, we have to leave." Reaching down, he grabbed some of the packages before starting to walk off back towards the Academy.

Karin followed soon after, curious. "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Rolling her eyes, Karin kept her pace next to him. "Is there anything you _can _tell me?"

"No. Now shut up and walk."

Huffing, Karin kept quiet and continued walking. They made it to Academy before sunset and dropped off the packages at the Headmaster's office. "How did it go?" asked the Headmaster, taking the packages from Karin and Zero.

"Horrible," said Karin, turning on her heel and leaving.

* * *

Karin had been quiet the next couple of days, not really participating in anything unless asked. She had merely been listening for something, and finally, she found it. Karin knew Zero was going to hunt a vampire, and she knew Yuki's curious nature would lead to something she _had _to prevent.

"Yuki," Karin called when she spotted Yuki hiding behind a pillar, watching Zero walk off. "How are you?"

Gazing back at Zero's retreating figure, Yuki smiled timidly. "Oh, nothing. I just have to go-"

Knowing the innocent act wouldn't work, Karin reached out and grabbed Yuki's arm. "Don't go. I know where you want to go, but trust me...it's fine. He's good. You have to stay, okay?" Yuki looked down at Karin's firm grip and nodded, slowly.

"If you say so..."

* * *

"Yuki? Karin?"

Both girls looked up from where they had been working on a project together. Yuki was scribbling something in a notebook, and Karin had her legs up on the table, a book on her lap. Mostly, they weren't working, just goofing around.

"Can you girls show a transfer student around?"

"A new transfer student?" asked Yuki, pushing the notebook away. Karin closed the book and put it on the table as well, sliding her legs off and straightening up.

The headmaster nodded. "She was supposed to be enrolled earlier...but she was dealing with an illness."

A knock sounded on the door, and everyone turned their heads. "Come in," the headmaster called.

The door opened, a pretty girl walked in. Karin was suddenly hit with bad feeling, and she resisted the urge to glare. "Um...hi," she said quietly, and Karin noticed the white uniform she had on.

"A Night Class student?" Both Karin and Yuki said the words at the exact same time, and the girl looked down.

"This is Maria Kurenai. Maria, this is my daughter Yuki, and my 'daughter' Karin."

Karin was only a bit annoyed. "I'm not your daughter..."

"They both look so delicious..." the girl said, gazing down at tapping her finger on her chin.

"You can't talk like that at the academy," headmaster said quickly.

They started walking her around, Yuki taking the lead and showing her things. Karin, however, stayed in the back and started wondering why she was having such hateful thoughts towards this certain vampire. She hated all vampires, of course, but never with this much hatred...

All of the sudden, Maria halted, and Karin had to suddenly fly to the side to keep from bumping into her. "What did you guys stop?"

"Yuki..."

Karin noticed Maria was only adressing Yuki, so she stepped to the side, carefully listening, but not interjecting. She needed to protect _her _if Maria did anything. Maria then glomped Yuki. Karin inched forward, waiting to pry Maria off if she tried to bite her or anything.

Maria released Yuki and then went to open the classroom door, casting a glance at Karin. Throughtout that glance it seemed she had talked to her, even said something...because after that look Karin knew who she was. She knew. She knew.

And she hated that she didn't figure it out earlier.

* * *

She needed to find Zero.

Karin raced outside, her heart thudding within her ribs. She had sent Yuki inside, telling her she was going to take over her job - oh the irony - for the night. Yuki had thankfully believed it, and left Karin alone without asking too many questions.

Zero was leaning up agaisnt a tree, staring off into the distance. Running her forward, Karin yelled, "Zero!"

He turned, spotting her run up to him. "I have something to say to you-" he began, but she rapidly covered his mouth with her hand and started to jump up and down.

"No! Wait! Me! _Me_! Me! First! First!"

Zero rolled his eyes, gripping her shoulders. "No. Now shut up. What I have to say is _probably _more important than whatever you have to say." Karin's eyes went wide, and she thought - _he probably already knows she's here._

"There was a guy following you when we left a couple days ago."

Karin's eyes narrowed. _This was his important news? _"What did he look like?" _Might as well humor him. He's going to be in for a whole lot when I tell him she's here._

"Tall, brown hair, glasses."

Karin groaned and let her head fall, not caring that it landed on Zero's chest. She sighed. "He was the one who was bullying me! Oh gosh, if I see him again, I will _let him have it_."

For a moment, everything was like it was back then, and they were in silence, just staring there.

Then Zero froze, and he pushed Karin to the side, letting her fall on the ground with a thump. She saw Maria standing in front of them, her emotionless expression on. "That was my news!" yelped Karin loudly, jabbing a finger at Maria.

Zero whipped out his gun, aiming for Maria-

And then Yuki jumped in the way. Karin, remembering her job, jumped up, and rammed into the short girl, pushing her out of the way. Yuki didn't seem to care, she merely ran back to Maria and started explaining the situation.

Karin stumbled over to Zero, catching her breath.

"That was my news...My news is _always _more important..."

She turned to Yuki, a frown on her face. "And you... I told you to stay inside."


	4. Chapter 4

[Disclaimer - I don't own Vampire Knight.

Yuck, I'm sick and bored. So maybe you can expect a lot of writing. I kind of like this one...it explains more from Karin's past, I guess.]

"There's a ball?"

Karin was alarmed; she hadn't heard of this. She clutched her books tighter, gazing from Yori's face to Ria's. Both of them gave her a little look, and then Yori turned to Yuki. "What about you?"

"It doesn't interest me right now," mumbled Yuki. "I'm more worried about the exams."

"Forget the exams!" yelled Karin, dropping her books into Yuki's arms. "I need to find a date!" Her eyes slowly fell on Zero. "Zero! You can be my date!" She grabbed his free hand and started twirling around, not seeming to care in the least he wasn't moving. He just stared at her.

"I thought you guys would forget," said Yori, dark and ominous. Ria and Yuki looked over, and even Karin stopped, frozen in the position of twirling underneath Zero's arm. "The class that scores the lowest on the exams has to work at the ball."

"I'm worried, Yuki," a voice said behind them all. Everyone merely turned their heads to glance behind, but Karin had to twist herself another way due to her and Zero's arm being suspended in the air. It was only the class rep, Karin noticed, just deciding to zone out his words. He was only bother with Yuki, anyways.

She continued to dance one-sidedly with Zero, humming a small tune under her breath. "This is fun, isn't it?" she cooed.

Voices made everyone stop what they were saying, and Karin saw Yuki start to walk towards them. Taking her arm from Zero's, she stepped forward, hand out. "Yuki, it's fine. The vice president will take care of her, okay?" Yuki paused, sighing.

"I guess your right, Karin. But shouldn't I-"

"Just stay away from her. She's not who you think she is."

With that, she grabbed Ria's hand and headed off to class, her heart thumping in her chest. Classes went by slowly, and before she knew it, she was back in the dorms, her job done for the night. She let out a sigh, and decided to go say goodnight to Yuki.

She was currently studying her book. "Need any help?" asked Karin, startling the brown-haired girl.

Yuki blushed, running a hand through her hair. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not." Karin slid into the seat next to her, and started to point out a few things, helpful ideas. Yuki could get the grasp out of it, but she wasn't a master. Karin nodded, standing up, yawning. "I'm tired now - do you think you can finish up by yourself?"

Yuki nodded.

Karin strung on her old leather jacket, the one she had taken with her when she had first come to Yuki's house. It had escaped the worse of the whole incident, and Karin treasured it. She was heading out when someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the side, and down a flight of stairs.

"Zero? Is that you?"

"Come with me."

Karin's heart started to thud in her ears again, and for a second, her vision blurred. "What's going on? Why-"

She stopped when they entered a room and she saw who was in the room.

Maria.

"You can sense me." She said this to Zero, Karin knew, so she stayed quiet and still. "Because there's a blood bond between us." Karin couldn't see the blur that Zero was as he moved forward, aiming his gun at Maria.

He didn't pull the trigger.

Karin was waiting, her hands ready to block the sound if needed, but it never came. Karin hid in the shadows, her eyes talking in the scene before her. She couldn't hear much, but she saw Maria's mouth moving.

Holding her breath, Karin kept her eyes still, focusing on the one scene that was being played out in front of her. Then, a sword dropped out from nowhere, and Maria caught it, swiftly. Karin's eyes darted up, at the figure in the shadows who had dropped it.

Then a gunshot rang out, and Karin's eyes fell back on the scene. Zero hadn't shot Maria's heart, but there still was a bit of blood coming from the wound. It would heal soon enough, anyways.

Karin watched as Maria started to leave, and the figure followed her.

She rushed out, bending down on the ground next to Zero. He was hurt, somehow, she knew that. She had to help...and she knew just the way. Frantically scraping her hair back, she tilted her head to the side. "Come on, Zero. Just...take my blood...or something."

* * *

She had fainted. It was probably due to the fact it had never happened to her before, but when she woke up, she was laying on Zero, her head on his chest, one arm of his wrapped loosely around her shoulder. Turning a light shade of red, Karin leaned up and tapped his cheek, waking him.

"Zero..."

He got up suddenly, lifting Karin to her feet and then starting to head off, looking better than he had this morning. Karin noted that her blood _had _helped. He beckoned for her to follow, and she did. She didn't question where he was going as they walked around. He didn't pause as he entered a room, where Yuki, Yori, and Ria were hanging decorations.

"Did the transfer student come in here?" Zero asked Yuki, looking around.

He turned, going into another room. Karin followed, giving Ria a small nod. Ria moved forward, her hand lightly touching the blood that had seeped onto Karin's collar. "What happened to you?"

Karin clutched her neck and moved away. "I fell. Sorry."

Zero had given up on searching for Maria, and Karin had mentioned that they had to be the security for the ball tonight. She creeped up to her room, planning on just to grab an outfit and get out.

That didn't work.

Ria was getting ready as well, pinning a bow into her blonde hair. "Rin!" she said, turning. "What does your dress look like?"

"Even if I had one, it wouldn't be as pretty as yours," Karin mumbled, gazing at the long, blue dress Ria had on.

"Nonsense," said Ria, smiling. "Where is it?"

Karin rubbed the side of her head. "Well...I don't have one."

"_What_?" Ria ran to her closet, opening it and started to shuffle through it. "That won't do! You need to impress Zero and-"

"_Whoa. _What do you mean, 'impress Zero'. It's not like that! And besides, I have to be on disciplinary comittee duties." Karin crossed her arms. "So I don't need a dress."

"Found it!" Ria whipped out a soft purple dress, that was a light color. It seemed short, at first, but when Ria forced it on Karin, Karin saw it was actually a pretty dress. She spun around it for a moment. "Now you're going to thank me, aren't you?"

Karin hugged Ria tightly. "Thank you."

On her way into the dance, Karin swore she saw the telltale blonde hair. She paused; she knew that the Night Class students could attend the dance, but she didn't think Maria actually would. Deciding to be curious, Karin looked around. She jumped when a cool hand touched her back.

"Karin."

The air suddenly seemed too cold, and she bit her lip, sighing. "Maria."

"You don't have to turn around and face me, but I have a little...idea, for you." She felt Maria's face right next to hers, although she couldn't turn and see it. "You want to save Zero, don't you?" Her fingertips brushed over Karin's shoulder. "You either give yourself to me...or kill Kaname Kuran."

"How would you think I'd be able to kill Kaname-"

"You have a job to fufill. I think if you brought it, he'd let his guard down. You know how much he cares about _her._" Karin froze. "I'll let you have some time to decide. Come find me when you make your decision."

Maria told her where she would be, and then she left, leaving Karin standing in a state of confusion.

She shook it off and entered the dance, suprised to see Ria already having fun. She was glad about that. Karin saw that Yuki was off with Kaname as well, and Zero was over on the side, in his uniform. "Zero," she called, waving. She walked over, smiling.

Her eyes paused on his tie, which wasn't on properly. "Don't you want to look nice for your date? Man, I even got dressed up..." She reached up and fixed it, smiling. "There. Shall we dance?"

"Why would we do that?" he asked. "We're here on duty."

"But your my date, and we _have _to dance. One dance won't hurt you." She grabbed his hand and dragged him out, ignoring the stares and muttering. She took the lead at first, her two hands wearily on his shoulders. Finally, she guessed, he gave in, grabbing her hand and slipping his other one onto her waist.

They danced for a few minutes, and Karin couldn't help but laugh the whole time.

When they stopped, Karin dragged him over to a corner and giggled, her hands wrapped tightly around his. "See, it wasn't that bad. It was kind of fun."

Looking up, she saw Zero was close, closer than she had remembered. He was looking straight into her eyes, almost so much she swore he was gazing into her soul or something. She leaned up on her toes, reaching forward, her eyes shutting, their lips almost touching-

"Rin! How is the dance going?"

Turning with her face a bright red, Karin saw Ria standing there, a bright grin on her face. She kept glancing from Karin's flustered face to Zero, who was averting his stare to the wall. She smiled again, as if she _knew. _"Sorry for interuptting. I'll be going now."

As Ria left, Karin turned back to Zero. "That reminds me. I have to go now as well. Can you take my shift?"

He nodded briskly.

Karin bravely leaned up, her lips touching his cheek, and she pulled away. "Thanks for the wonderful date. I enjoyed. Let's go on some more soon, okay?" She winked, and then rushed away, leaving Zero to stare after her.

* * *

Maria hadn't been that hard to find.

She was sitting down on a couch, dressed in her own dress, a small smile on her face. "You've decided?"

Karin nodded.

Maria reached over, tightly gripping Karin's hand. "You know who I am, do you not?"

Karin swallowed. "I do."

The figure from that fight, the one who had given Maria the sword...he was coming in now, a body in his arms. Karin recognized that body, and a felt a fresh wave of anger run through her. "The memories...they're pretty fresh in your mind right now, aren't they?"

Letting her head fall down, Karin nodded.

Maria leaned over again, letting go of Karin's hand, and reached over, grabbing the hands of the woman the figure was carrying. "He only has to drink my blood." Karin sucked in a gasp as she watched the other body's eyes open, and then Maria was falling, landing on top of Karin as thought the life in her was gone.

"_Shizuka_," spat Karin, pushing Maria off of her.

"Ichiru...put Maria's body on the bed."

That name...that name...

Karin jumped up, her eyes wide. "Ichiru? Is that you?"

A hand was on Karin's face, pushing her back. "You offered yourself to me already. Don't waste time on foolish things." Karin's eyes shut as Shizuka neared her neck. _This was a horrible way to go. I still have so many questions..._

"Let Karin go!"

Karin's eyes shot open, and she saw Zero in the doorway, his gun in his hand. He looked angry, she saw with some suprise. Thinking quickly, Karin pushed Shizuka away and stood in front of her, arms spread wide. "Zero! No! Don't shoot!"

"Move, Karin. I'll end this-"

"Zero, no! You don't understand!" Karin could feel tears stinging at her eyes, and she laughed inwardly. That would be embarrasing, to cry at a moment like this. "She can save you!"

His eyes wide, he paused. "Karin...you really think she can "save" me."

"Zero...if you drink from her you won't become a level E. And the only way for her to let you do that is if she drinks from me. I'll be like you, then, but...I'll be fine. Besides..." Her throat burned. "The reason you're like this is because I was too nervous...too weak."

Knowing she wouldn't move, Zero glared at her for a minute. "Move, Karin."

"No."

And then he was right next to her, lifting her up, pushing her over his shoulder. Karin let out a cry, and started to claw at his face, grateful - at least for the moment - that her nails were sharp. When she saw that didn't hurt him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed, tightly. She sighed when he dropped her back to her feet. He touched her shoulders, staring again into her eyes. "Why are you trying to stop me...?"

"Zero..."

He pulled her into some sort of hug, one arm wrapped tightly around her as the other one stayed tight around his gun, aiming it at Shizuka.

"Don't-"

Before she knew it she was being pushed away, and he shot forward, his hands around Shizuka's neck. Karin hurridedly got to her feet and grabbed at Zero's arm, trying to pull him back. "If you kill her...what will you do when the day's over?"

"He wants to destroy himself along with me."

Karin froze, her hand still wrapped tightly around his wrist.

"Shizuka-sama...why are you playing with him?"

It was him...again...

"Don't interfere," Shizuka said, turning her head to look at Ichiru. "Keep out of this."

Ichiru firmly stood in front of her. "I, for one, won't have you die here."

Shizuka sighed. "I had no intention of dying here." Karin thought she was going to come back, but instead she left, leaving Zero, Ichiru, and Karin, all in a cloud of silence.

"Let's all have a talk, shall we?"

* * *

_Memories...are coming back..._

_Karin watched as Master walked away. Snow fell around her and Zero as they stood still, watching him leave. All of the sudden, arms fell around both her and Zero and she fell back, grinning. "Ichiru!" She hugged him back tightly. _

_Zero looked over. "You should be in bed. You have a fever."_

_"I faked it." Ichiru glanced over at Karin, who was staring at him with worry. She touched his forehead calmly. _

_"It's true," she agreed. "He's not warm. He just didn't want to see Master leave." She reached over and gave Ichiru another hug, squeezing him tightly. _

_"I'm a drop-out. It's not like it would matter." Ichiru looked up, smiling at both Karin and Zero. "And besides, as long as I have your love, guys, I'll be fine."_

_Karin let out a happy squeal and hugged both of them, smiling._

_So what if she didn't get to know her family? She had these guys, and they were great family..._

_Something landed on Ichiru's nose, and Karin laughed, brushing it aside. "Was that snow?" asked Ichiru, peering at the object in his hand._

_"Look," Zero said, pointing._

_"Why are the cherry blossums blooming out of season?" wondered Karin, stepping towards them. "And who is that woman?"_

_"She's very pretty," noted Ichiru._

_"Let's go home, you guys," Zero said, tugging both Ichiru and Karin back._

Karin shook her head, trying to get rid of the memories that kept trying to come back into her mind. She didn't want to remember what happened after that. She jumped away from both Zero and Ichiru, and ran.

To where, she didn't know.


	5. Chapter 5

**[MMKAY.**

**I know I haven't updated in awhile, and this is short. But I will hopefully get the next chapter up soon. ]**

Karin had kept her distance from basically everyone the rest of the day, only talking to teachers and Ria, Yuki, and Yori. She hadn't seen Zero, and she didn't want to - she wouldn't know what to say. She hadn't seen Ichiru or Shizuka either, thank goodness; she didn't think her mental health could take it.

Yori looked up from where she was writing and passed Karin a notebook. "Can you give this to Yuki? She left it."

Karin nodded. "Sure."

After school, she walked into where she thought Yuki might be, calling her name lightly. She turned a corner and saw Zero standing there, looking to be arguing with the headmaster about something. "Karin. How are you?" asked the headmaster.

"...looking for Yuki. Do you know where she is?" Even though she was talking to the headmaster, she couldn't seem to pry her eyes off Zero.

"Sorry, no."

Suddenly, she found herself being ushered in by the headmaster, who was chirping on and on about 'making dinner'. The door closed behind her and she stood, staring down at Zero who was sitting on the couch. "Uh...here." Karin handed Yuki's notebook to him. "Can you give this to Yuki when you see her?"

He took it, staring up at her. "Karin..."

She saw the sadness in his eyes, something she hadn't seen in quite a bit of time. She bent down, wrapping her arms around her neck, her head falling on top of his. "Zero, I'm so sorry. I don't- I didn't mean to ignore, I just-"

She felt his arms wrap around her middle, pulling her closer to him. "I know."

For a minute, they stayed like that, until Karin pushed away and bit her lip. Her thoughts were still muddled inside. "I have the worst feeling. Can you make sure Yuki's okay for me? I'm tired."

* * *

Even though she had said she wasn't ignoring him, Karin knew that wasn't the full answer. Instead, she had tackled the prospect of ignoring him whole-heartedly, dodging him whenever he was near, pretending not to hear him...she needed at least a few days of some thinking time, to get over what had happened.

Sleep had been Karin's best friend for the next couple of days.

The headmaster had let her take the few days off, but when it came time for school, Karin was practically dead to the world. Her head hung low as she walked into the classroom, shutting the door behind her. Through her half-shut eyes, Karin could see that everyone was staring at her, inlcuding a half-sleeping Zero in the back.

"Your late, Karin," the teacher scolded.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry." Karin rubbed at her eyes, shaking her head. "I was sick. I'm better now." Casting a glance over the room, Karin saw that the only open seat was the one next to Zero. Feeling the heat drain from her face, Karin slowly sat down in the seat.

It was a free period, so the other students were busy chattering about things Karin could care less about. Even so, she tried her hardest to act into the news. "Karin." Zero's voice made Karin inwardly shiver. She hadn't wanted to talk to him so soon, but she guessed she couldn't put it off any longer.

She turned, managing a small smile. "Hi."

"You're ignoring me even though you said you weren't." His eyes seemed to bore into hers, and Karin couldn't keep from mantaining eye contact longer than five seconds. "Why?"

"It's not you, Zero." Karin dug her nails into her palms. "Can't you see that? It's about what's _happened_. That woman, she just comes back, and I...I couldn't handle that." Karin let out a breathy chuckle, shaking her head. "Call me weak, but..." He didn't answer. Karin paused. "What happened with Yuki? Was I right?"

"It's nothing."

He said it as though he didn't want her to know. Karin felt annoyance run through her veins, but she sighed. As long as Yuki was safe, she was fine. She ran her hands up and down her arms, attempting to give herself some warmth.

A crash made Karin jump and whirl around. A girl lay on the ground, her neck exposed to the class. Luckily, no one except her had noticed. By the way his eyes widened, Karin could tell Zero had as well. She leapt up, pushing past people and covering her neck with her hair.

Zero jumped in, offering to carry her to the infirmary.

After, Karin dragged Zero to the headmaster's office, telling him they ought to report it. Kaname was already there, catching Karin's eye as soon as they walked in. She kept her head down, eyes on the ground.

Karin let the headmaster and Kaname discuss the attack for a moment, her eyes darting from object to object in the room. "Kiryu...you're still a suspect too."

Karin's head jolted up. "What?"

Why isn't he suspecting _me_ then? Maybe I wasn't born a Kiryu, but I was still with them for most of my life, thought Karin. Kaname opened his mouth to speak, but Karin shot out a finger and poked him in the chest, a glare on her face.

"Shut up. You know as well as I do he wouldn't do something like that!" Karin took a deep breath, trying to keep her anger from bubbling over. She pressed her lips together for a moment, shaking her head. "I can't believe you. Until you _see _that Zero's innocent, or I _prove it_..."

Karin grabbed Zero's hand, starting to pull him out the door. "...I won't be doing my job."

Karin continued to pull Zero outside, her heart racing. What she did back there...it was a huge risk, and it scared her. But, in her eyes, it was worth it. Yuki wouldn't be hurt here anyways. That was the point of the school.

"Karin...why did you do that?"

She didn't stop to look back at him, only continued walking. "Because...Kaname's getting meaner to you all the time. I do that freakin' _job _for him, and he can't be nice to one person?"

They stopped, and Karin pressed her lips together, her mind thinking up of all the ways she could get in trouble. "The guilt is killing you, isn't it?"

"Of course not!" She didn't mean to yell, it just came out. She shook her head, sighing. "Let's go talk to the girl, okay? Maybe we can figure it out..." She grabbed Zero's hand again and started to walk off.

* * *

They hadn't figured out a thing.

Karin was busy talking to the girl, so she hadn't noticed when Zero had disappeared. Maybe he was annoyed at the fact the Night Class was also here. It didn't matter. Once she had gotten everything she possibly could out of the girl, Karin went off, searching for him.

Hearing a sound that sounded like someone moving, Karin followed it and pulled away the curtain from a bed. She let out a sigh. "Zero, I found you-"

"Karin, I was thinking." Karin flushed; did this mean something was wrong? She nodded, telling him to go on. "Awhile ago...you kissed me." Heat rushed to her cheeks and she pressed her thumbs there, trying to keep from him seeing it.

_Oh man, he was bringing this up again? He had already told me it meaned nothing, and it didn't like it. But then at the dance, and... I don't understand him anymore. Nothing makes sense. I know I'm probably more confused that I need to be..._

"Why?" Zero looked up into Karin's eyes, watching as she fidgeted.

"Zero, I didn't-"

Suddenly, she was being pulled down, into Zero's arms. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she grabbed his arms to keep from falling. "Tell me the truth. I can tell when you lie."

"I..." She bit her lip. It wouldn't do any good to lie to him now. Might as well just get the truth off her chest, even if he didn't accept it. "Zero, I've loved you ever since we were eight. I don't remember exactly what you did, only that I thought it was amazing." She tried pushing herself away. "I get it if you don't feel the same way, but-"

Before she could finish, his lips were pressed to hers. Karin's eyes stayed open, not knowing what to do. Was he high or something? He pulled away before she could do anything. "Remember after you kissed me? How I said I didn't like it?"

Her mind was clouded with other things, but she nodded. "Yeah."

"I lied."


End file.
